


Acting Our Age

by chibi_nightowl



Category: Batman (Comics), Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: Gen, Winter, holiday fluff, hot cider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-26 10:16:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13233612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chibi_nightowl/pseuds/chibi_nightowl
Summary: “What are you doing?” It’s clear Tim thinks there’s a screw loose upstairs if his tone is anything to go by.“Acting my age,” Stephanie replies and pouts when the first snowflake lands on her cheek rather than in her mouth.“You’re 22, not 12.”“I’m regressing. Now pull that stick out of your ass and have some fun.”





	Acting Our Age

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Marudny_Robot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marudny_Robot/gifts).



> For the 2017 Batfam Christmas Stocking on Tumblr. Prompt: When was the last time we acted our age?

The cold wind blows right through Stephanie as she makes her way down the busy street, heralding not only winter in general but also the nor’easter bearing down on the East Coast. Gotham may not be the epicenter for once but the forecast still calls for a foot of snow and blizzard conditions for the next twelve hours. 

At least Christmas is still a few days away. A white one is always nice even if that snow takes on a grayish hue once it passes through the city’s constant layer of smog. Even with the strong winds, it never seems to go away. 

By the time she makes it to the main entrance of Wayne Enterprises, Steph is pretty certain she can’t feel her nose anymore, even with the knitted scarf she made covering it and her mouth. Any chances the coffee she’s carrying of still being warm are long gone. 

Tim will still drink it cold. He’s a nut like that. 

The security guard laughs as she struggles to unwrap the long scarf so he can see her face before letting her in. She’s well known at WE but nothing is visible below her eyes what with the scarf and her hat. He does hold the coffee for her at least. 

“Got lost in there, huh?” he asks when Stephanie finally untangles herself from the long scarf. Maybe she went a bit overboard when she made it. 

“Yeah, I guess,” she replies as she shakes out her long blonde hair. “It’s freezing out there. I swear, there will be sleet by the time I leave.”

The guard nods in commiseration and hands her back the coffee carrier. 

At least the lobby is warm. And so is the elevator. Steph doesn’t even mind the lame holiday Muzak playing on the speakers overhead. 

Tim’s office is on the executive floor but she’s long since had the code to access the upper levels of WE. And the extreme lower levels where the Batbunker still is. Stephanie exits and strides down the hallway, not caring in the slightest that she looks like a wind-blown mess. Any one of these put together executives, assistants, and secretaries would look just like her if they stepped outside. 

Tam Fox grins when she sees Steph. “About time!” she says. “He’s been driving me crazy for the last hour.” 

“I come with a peace offering and a bribe,” Stephanie intones sagely. “It’s cold but hey, microwaves are a thing.” She hands over one of the coffees to Tam. 

She accepts it with a wink. “Am I the peace offering or the bribe?” 

“The bribe. What does Tim’s schedule look like for the rest of the afternoon? I want to sneak him out of here. See I can’t get him to act like a real boy for once.” 

The woman pulls up the calendar on her computer and reviews it. She sips absently from the coffee and makes a face at the definite lack of warmth. “You weren’t kidding,” Tam comments and blinks before she continues. “All he’s got is an appointment with the head of accounting but let me drop her an IM really quick to see if she’s willing to reschedule. No one wants to stay late with the weather like it is.”

Steph waits patiently, not caring in the slightest that Tim’s coffee grows colder by the moment. He’ll just drink it faster when he gets his greedy little hands in it. He never turns down a peppermint mocha (although he is kinda weird about pumpkin spice lattes; he drinks them but she’s never seen him destroy them like he does the mochas).

“Okay, we’re in the clear,” Tam announces proudly. “Get him outta here.”

“You got it, boss!” Stephanie salutes her with the remaining coffee and heads into the office behind Tam’s desk. They all know who’s really in charge of Tim when he’s at WE. She swears the two of them are _perfect_ for each other (and she can say that with all honesty, even as the ex-girlfriend) but even she wouldn’t wish the mess that is Tim Drake on a good day on anyone. Red Robin may be dangerously competent and ridiculously smart but all that goes out the window when the mask comes off. 

“Oh, Tiiiiiimmmm,” she sings out as she spots Tim behind his desk. “I got something here for you.”

Icy blue eyes instantly look up from his computer. The young man takes in the drink carrier and makes grabby hands at it, just like Steph knew he would. “Gimme.”

“Magic word?”

“Gimme now, please.”

“Close enough.” Stephanie hands him his now cold mocha and watches in bemusement as Tim doesn’t even pause as he drinks it down. “It _was_ warm, once upon a time.”

“I can get a warm one once we leave.” Tim stands and starts putting on his coat.

Wait, what? “How’d you know I’m here to kidnap you?” she asks, cocking her head to the side in puzzlement.

“I just saw my sole appointment for the afternoon disappear from my calendar. You brought Tam coffee too, didn’t you?” He winks at her as he digs his gloves out of the pockets of the heavy overcoat he’s wearing. It looks warm and probably costs more than Steph’s monthly rent.

Stephanie nods and sighs heavily, but she’s still rolling her eyes as she does. Tim really shouldn’t surprise her anymore, but he still manages it sometimes. “You’re taking all the fun out of this,” she says as she helps loop his scarf around his neck.

“Oh, sorry.” Tim makes a face and then dramatically drapes a hand across his forehead. “Wherever are you taking me, in such brutal weather no less?”

To think, most people never got to see this side of Tim Drake. He only ever acts like this in front of people he’s most comfortable around. Steph knows that number is on the cusp of reaching five if he ever admits to himself that he still has a crush on Tam. It’s clear to see that she does too, but won’t cross the line they established awhile back. Steph feels a _little_ guilty over the easy access she has to Tim, but she’s had enough talks with Tam to know there’s no hard feelings there.

“You’ll have to wait and see.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

_“Oh, the weather outside is frightful…”_ Stephanie sings softly as she drags Tim out of the warm car (his car has heated seats, so of course he gets to drive them around) and onto the sidewalk leading into Robinson Park.

“What exactly are we doing here?” Tim asks as they walk under barren trees. The wind has died down finally and the temperature has plummeted. No sleet either, a fact for which they’re both grateful.

Stephanie blows hard into the air, watching her breath fog up and practically crystallize before her eyes. “When was the last time we acted our age?” she asks in turn.

Tim gapes for a second, the question taking him off guard. “Umm…” his brows furrow in puzzlement as he tries to come up with an answer.

“Exactly,” Stephanie replies. “I can’t remember either. So, here’s what we’re gonna do about it. There’s a stand up ahead that sells the most delicious spiced cider. I don’t know what’s in it and I don’t wanna know. We’re each getting a cup, we’ll take a walk, get some more, and then stop for some Thai on the way back to my place where we’ll binge watch Christmas movies all night while I try and guess what you got Tam for Christmas.” She winks at him.

“How’d you know I got her a Christmas gift?” Tim rubs the back of his head like he always does when he’s nervous about something (and feels comfortable enough not to squash down all his tells).

“Because I know you. That and I heard you agonizing over it with Dick last week.” They reach the hot cider stand. Even with the pending storm, there’s still a short line of people.

“He wasn’t any help,” Tim grumbles and shoves his hands in his pockets.

Stephanie grins because, no, Dick is never of any help when it comes to the important gifts. “I heard you talked about it with Cass too.”

“She was even worse. Suggested I get Tam a knife.”

“Not all of us appreciate sharp, pointy objects in our Christmas stocking.” She doesn’t, but every year, she always gets an assortment of batarangs and throwing stars in hers. It’s easy to blame Damian, but she knows it’s Bruce.

The conversation is paused while they get their drinks. Stephanie inhales the warm spicy scent while Tim pays. She brought him coffee, the least he can do is pay for this. They start walking again, further into the park. Their conversation picks up again, but Tim steers them away from the topic of Christmas presents. She lets him (for now).

Soon, the cider is gone and they’re heading back for more when Stephanie spots it. “Look!” she excitedly points to the sky.

Tim looks around quickly, obviously expecting an attack. “What?” he asks in bewilderment.

“It’s snowing, you dork!” Steph darts away and raises her face to the sky, opening her mouth wide.

“What are you doing?” It’s clear Tim thinks there’s a screw loose upstairs if his tone is anything to go by.

“Acting my age,” she replies and pouts when the first snowflake lands on her cheek rather than in her mouth.

“You’re 22, not 12.”

“I’m regressing. Now pull that stick out of your ass and have some fun.”

Tim stares at her and shakes his head slowly, like he can’t believe he’s being dragged into this. But he does what she says and soon, the two of them are racing around trying to catch snowflakes with their open mouths. They look utterly ridiculous and the paparazzi would have a field day if they caught Tim Drake-Wayne on camera like this, but with the way Tim’s finally grinning, Steph counts it as a massive victory. It’s not every day her friend lets himself go enough to just relax.

The snow starts coming down harder, so they race back to the cider stand for one more cup each, and then run back to Tim’s car, trying hard not to spill them in the process.

Stephanie grins as she buckles up. “There, that wasn’t so bad now, was it?”

“No, it really wasn’t,” Tim admits as he pulls out onto the road. “Still feel like Thai?”

“What else you offering?” Thai is almost as cheap as Chinese if she orders right.

“Korean? I kinda feel like bulgogi.”

Yum. And a budget breaker, but Tim knows how much she loves short ribs. “Only if you’re paying.”

“Deal.”

Stephanie smiles fondly as she sips her cider and snuggles into the slowly warming seat. “Just for that, I’ll wait and put on _Love Actually_ when you fall asleep later. I know how much you just _love_ that movie.”

Tim hates it with a passion. His idea of a Christmas movie is _Die Hard_. He’s such a guy sometimes. “Dare I ask what we’re starting with?”

“I was thinking _Elf._ ”

 


End file.
